Saturday 2/3 – Thursday 7/3

Saturday 2/3

The following morning was overcast and held a bit of wind, but it wasn't too bad yet, and visibility was good. The wind increased during the next few hours, however, causing a fair bit of drift, and when I went up to my guest with the morning report it wasn't very nice at all being outside. There was now a white wall to the north, and closer by I could see little more than the cliffs up on Lulip Muorahisčohkka. I made an attempt to clear the paths again, but had to abort because the whipping snow was unkind to my exposed face, and because the wind filled up substantial parts anew almost immediately. The drift was severe, and visibility at ground level was largely nonexistent. Brr.

I spent much of the afternoon quietly reading in bed – and when I happened to look out the window I was startled to see a whole bunch of people and dogsleds in the middle of the whirling snow. I suited up and went to sort things out; obviously at least parts of these people belonged to a guided dogsled tour, some of which were just carrying a girl indoors. That didn't look too great, but it seemed to be nothing more serious than hypothermia. There were actually two guided groups, numbering 7 and 4 in total, and I recognized one of the guides from previous encounters. There were also four skiers who had teamed up with the dogsleds down in the valley when they had lost the trail (lucky for them!), and it took a while to get everything and everyone in place. Snow had amassed in the drying room's vent and the heater wouldn't engage properly, so I had to clear that since this particular facility was to find heavy use presently.

Just after I had finished dinner (and dessert) three more people skied up with LED headbands. These were also French and had camped "nearby", not wanting to strike their tent in the strong wind, but it had abated somewhat now. They also wanted to stay inside, which brought the total guest count up to a season-high of 18 – only four shy of full capacity. I allowed some time for everyone to get properly settled and fed, and then went up to collect payment, managing in French with the French. I also brought up another barrel of water I had stored for such an event (or just for myself otherwise), since going to the water hole under present conditions and physical as well as emotional states was not a desirable option. As I drifted off to bed at 22:15 it was still blowing and snowing, but not as much as before.

Sunday 3/3

The morning wind was much lessened, the morning sky was partially clear, the morning temperature was –17°C – and before long there was also morning sunlight through Šielmmávággi. The smaller dogsled group was heading back to Alesjaure, but the larger one was set to continue to Sälka as planned; the distinct shift in the weather had lifted most people's spirits. This shift also allowed me to fix one of the privy doors which wouldn't close – for obvious reasons I did not even make an attempt the day before. Two people passed by from the south, headed for Alesjaure – probably coming from the shelter in the pass – and as most of my overnight guests had cleared the main cottage I went through it, cleaning and preparing.

A short bout of snow later saw me attacking the log pile again, and now it was really starting to get fair. The dogsleds left in sequence, in different directions, the northbound ones starting out by retracing their tracks from the day before since they needed to pick up a parcel they had had to leave in the snow in order to get the hopythermic girl into the sled. Now that full visibility was restored I saw that the surrounding slopes had lost much of their newly acquired snow again, but it appeared that most of it had been carried down into Alisvággi, which was now perfectly white. It was still rather cold, and rather than standing outside freezing I went inside and had lunch.

The afternoon was very nice and I tried sitting outside in the sun, but despite a blanket the cold wind lowered this activity's comfort level. When the sun finally dropped behind Lulip Muorahisčohkka I returned inside, and it started to get colder still. A bit later I saw something down in the valley, and with my binoculars I could discern a trio of skiers approaching far away, but since it was already somewhat late I doubted whether they were actually aiming for Tjäktja today. Instead there suddenly appeared a single skier on the first crest down, and after what appeared to be some deliberating he skied up in the growing dusk. Despite the temperature – and the forecast of lower ones – he opted to tent outside and just use the kitchen and drying room, and while he tended to that I had dinner.

Sunny and nice

My room

The guest

This was my only guest for the night, camper or not; he had spent the previous night between Rádunjárga and Alesjaure, and also informed me that the three people I had seen earlier had stopped further down, as expected. Also as expected it was getting even colder, and after a brief aurora session all the stars were out, and it was a great joy to lay eyes upon the full elenath after so many days of white cover. Such activities took up the rest of my evening, together with reading, before I let the warm embrace of bed welcome me.

Monday 4/3

The next day started out a bit milder, even though Nikkaluokta had had almost –36°C during the night. There were some light clouds in the sky, but they appeared to be lifting already, and the wind was weak to nonexistent. Indeed the sky cleared over breakfast, and I promptly decided to try for Čeakčačohkka – this likely being the last chance to do so before my period ended. The camper was in the process of striking his tent, and having spoken a bit with him I left after 09:30.

Go to day tour report »

The owners of the skis were two Frenchmen who had paused inside and were just leaving for Sälka. I went to fetch water, which was the easiest round yet thanks to the harder snow, and then mostly relaxed up until dinner and a well-earned dessert. I rested with the radio and read through the evening, while the outside world plunged into a deeper darkness than I had seen for some time, what with the ever-present snow and clouds serving as reflectors; now the sky was mostly clear, but it was not too cold. Nothing else happened, and it felt good to crawl into bed at 22.

Tuesday 5/3

I slept through the night, awaking to more snow and wind. I had some scones mix left, so I made myself some fresh scones for breakfast – mmm. The only event of note before lunch was my shovelling in the usual places, and it was late in the afternoon before I saw movement, this time in the form of three dogsleds arriving (with some trail-finding difficulty) from the north. The leader of the pack turned out to be one of those who had been here in the storm earlier, and even though it was still snowing conditions were much less unpleasant this time around. A bit later two more people came, pulling a sled between them, but they were only going to have a break together with the others before going on.

Around 19 two tired Belgians from Sälka arrived, having almost stayed in the shelter in the Pass due to heavy plodding in deep snow with their snowshoes. The weather was improving now, however, and when I went to bed the wind had died down completely and the stars were out, which made for cold temperatures.

Wednesday 6/3

There was some snow and wind during the night, but in the morning both were petering out. As I had expected one of the gas canisters connected to my cottage had run out, but I also discovered that one of the connection tubes was showing cracks, so I went to search for a replacement. I found two in the storage room, neither of which was whole, so there was naught to do but get a new one from Civilization, and leave just one canister connected for the time being. The weather had cleared fully and things were fair but cold. Since my time in Tjäktja was coming to an end I started packing up my stuff while the remaining Belgians prepared for their own departure. Once they had left I checked out the main cottage and found it in pristine condition, so I could settle down for lunch.

Ptarmigans

Warden's cottage

This is a waterfall in summer

Relaxed

Just when I was finished a couple of skiers came up from the north, in the form of two Britons intending to pause for lunch before pressing on to Sälka. I joined them inside for an extended talk, and returned to my place when they left. Clouds were playing chase with the sun, but for the most part things were still fair.

I was just on my way out when the assistance phone "rang"; the message was a bit confusing, but in the end I managed to ascertain that the next warden would arrive by snowmobile on Friday, and that Abisko wanted me to remain until Saturday – when no snowmobile ride would be available – to coach him a bit. This upset my own plans, since I needed to be back home before a certain time to prepare for another journey, and my packing was on the heavy side. While skiing would be possible, the stages involved would be long indeed, and offer no respite, which I asked the police to relay.

Towards dinner the clouds were descending, and afterwards a low mist crept in from the northeast. This cleared again in the evening, thanks to a gusty wind that had picked up, but by the time I turned in it was snowing once more.

Thursday 7/3

The morning was clear and cold, with a bit of wind, but things looked favorable enough, so I decided to go for one last day tour to Nallo, leaving around 09:30 with the climbing skins attached.

Go to day tour report »

The paths and stairs had kept rather well considering the wind, so no extensive action was required. There was still no message from Abisko (via the police), so I called the latter up to confirm what would actually happen on the morrow. While they investigated the matter two Austrians and a dog came up on alpine touring skis (well, not the dog), wanting to make use of them in the Nallo area (good choice), but not until the next day. Then the police called back and told me that everything was already settled at the other end, and that I would be able to hitch a ride back with the snowmobile after a brief introduction. I continued packing as the snow and wind kept doing their thing outside, and then another trio of Germans arrived.

The weather steadily worsened, and being outdoors was not pleasant, so I tried not to. What was worse was that the current wind direction caused the gas heater to go out repeatedly, with cold air being pushed into the intake/exhaust vent despite the wind shield in front of it, and I kept turning it back on while the room slowly got colder. Another thing was that snow kept whirling in through cracks in the ill-fitting outer door, covering the vestibule with a layer of powder. Bad weather indeed.

After dinner I shovelled my way up to the others, and after collecting payment I spent quite some time with the alpine skiers speaking about the area, relating tips, safe bets and known hazards. The wind was somewhat weaker, but it kept blowing out the heater (and I kept relighting it) while finishing as much of my packing as I could. I had to do some more maintenance due to the drifting snow, and then I could finally enter my bed for the last time at 22:15.